


Warm Metal

by TheKidWrites



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bottom Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes & Winter Soldier are Different Personalities, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, But he wants to touch Tony, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Fluff and Angst, Hopefully she'll tell me too, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Natasha is Trying, Nobody Knows what's happening except for Friday, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Peter Parker, Steve is trying, Tags May Change, Team Dynamics, Tony Stark Doesn't Like Being Handed Things, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Top Bucky Barnes, Touch-Starved, Unreliable Narrator, Wanda needs therapy, Winter doesn't like touching, Winter is the dominant personality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:35:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29560593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKidWrites/pseuds/TheKidWrites
Summary: Tony hasn't been touched in a while.Winter has never had a touch that was wanted.Somehow they end up in each other's orbit.
Relationships: Friday & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Tony Stark & Stark Robots, Winter Soilder/Tony Stark, past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Relationship
Comments: 35
Kudos: 225





	1. Lonely is a State

Tony is happy. 

Despite the strained team dynamics, the snide remarks, and looks, Tony is happy. 

He has his bots, his girl Friday, Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and Pete. A family of his very own. 

People who love and respect him. 

Tony is happy, but he also can't help from sometimes feeling lonely. 

Rhodey is out of town.

Pepper is on vacation with Happy. 

And the kid has school. 

This isn't to say Friday and the bots aren't enough, but as much as he loves his kids, Tony needs touch. He needs to touch the same people need to breathe. 

Growing up, it was Jarvis's warm hugs and Ana cuddling with him during Storytime. 

His Mom, Maria, kissing him while saying, _"Bambino, you are going to change the world."_

His Dad, Howard, patting his head with an expression only seen on people who don't know how to be affectionate. 

Tony grew up and thrived on touch. But with kidnappings, torture, and team secrets, Tony hasn't tried to touch anyone or let anyone besides his family touch him. 

When Rogers reaches out for a hug, or when Nat tried to brush her fingers on his neck, he feels himself stiffen as they abandon the act of affection and retreat their hands to themselves. With Extremis running through his veins, fixing any phantom aches he may have felt and making him physically younger, he can’t help but think of how the touches probably would have felt comforted in a body foreign to him.

Instead, he pretends not to see the sadness in Steve and Nat’s eyes as he turns and scurries away.

Clint and Wanda don't try to touch him. 

Tony's thankful for that. 

It isn't until the early hours of the morning when Tony wakes up in a cold sweat from a nightmare and runs to the common area for Coffee that Tony finally sees _Bucky_. 

He's been a ghost since Princess Shuri fixed what she could of his mind and sent him packing to join Rogers back her at the compound. Roger's trailing him with sad puppy eyes and declarations of, "It'll get better Buck, soon you'll be back to your old self." 

It's both endearing and dismissive of what is so apparent. Whatever Princess Shuri managed to save of his mind was more _Winter_ than _Bucky_. 

With his need to see every exit in a room and his aversion to touch, 70 years under Hydras thumb has done the trick in rendering Bucky Barnes a mere memory from the 40s. 

As Tony enters the common area, he's aware of Winter's eyes tracking his movements as he waits for his coffee to brew. He isn't aware of Winter moving to stand directly behind him until he reaches for his mug in the cabinet. Tony damn near screams when he feels a hand come to rest on his hip and a broad, muscular chest that presses on his back as he sees a metal arm reach for his favorite mug. 

And if Tony didn't think the soldier was more Winter than Bucky, the accompanying Russian that fell from the soldier's lips confirmed it. 

"Вы скучаете по прикосновениям. Может, тебе стоит найти кого-нибудь, кто захочет прикоснуться к твоему котенку." 

Winter pulls away with a grunt and filling Tony's mug with the freshly brewed coffee before leaving it on the counter and murder strutting away, leaving Tony with a warmed face and a million questions, his sleep hazed brain can't understand. 

With a hand on his cheek, Tony grabs his mug as he shuffles back towards the elevator. He contemplates not telling Steve that the soldier has finally spoken and that it was in _Russian_ before deciding that keeping secrets never did end well between them. 

As he heads back to his room, Friday softly says, 

"Bossman, I think The Soldier is lonely too." 

And if that doesn't make his heartbreak, her follow up sentence does,

"Maybe he can give you the hugs we can't." 

“Your words are a hug in itself Friday, never thank you aren’t enough.”

“…Thank you, Bossman.”

When Tony finishes his coffee and wiggles back under his weighted blankets, he can't help but think of how he should really learn Russian if the soldier will be walking around with Russian words on his tongue. Maybe this will be the push he uses to build back up the broker bond with Nat.

_It’s funny how you can miss people you live with._

* * *

The next morning Tony is shuffling his way back to the common area, an oversized sweater and sweats drowning his hands and feet. He is greeted with rogers flipping pancakes, Clint and Wanda watching TV, and Nat sitting at the counter watching Steve work while sneaking pieces of fruit, much to Steve’s annoyance.

Clint and Wanda nod in his direction, which he returns.

There is still so much to unpack between them that Tony always wonders if they’ll ever truly be comfortable around each other.

He makes his way to the empty seat next to Nat when she shows a mug filled with Coffee just for him. As he slips in next to her, he rips off the band-aid called _Bucky,_ and before Steve can even get out his morning pleasantries.

“I bumped into your pal Bucky early this morning in the common area. He helped make my coffee, which puts him in my good graces. He also happened to speak Russian.”

At his revelation, the room goes quiet.

Tony can see the worry and excitement fill Steve’s eye as he rushes out a series of questions:  
“Are you okay? Why were you up so early? Bucky’s been more Winter Soldier than Bucky since he got out of cyro, so he hasn’t been speaking in English much… not that he can’t.”

And isn’t that something? It seems Tony’s going to have to relearn the team too.

“I’m fine. I don’t know what he said, but it couldn’t have been bad.” _Not with the way he pressed himself onto my back._

Nat makes an unreadable expression, “Friday do you think you can tell us what exactly the soldier said?”

There’s a long pause after Nat’s question, with everyone waiting for Friday to answer. So long that Tony worriedly calls out her name too.

“I’m always happy to help, but it seems as though… _Winter_ only wishes for the boss to know what he told him. Though I can assure you it's nothing concerning.”

With that answer, the room visibly relaxes. However, Fridays follow up sentence causes Steve’s shoulders to go cardboard stiff,

“If anything, it’s quite cute what Winter said. I’m sure it’ll make Boss blush when he hears it.”


	2. Patterns are a Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Asset looks for a mission.  
> Natasha accidentally gives him one.  
> Friday capitalizes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russian conversations will be Italicized and underlined.

The Asset was lost.

He had spent years having a designated purpose assigned by his handler, assigned by Hydra. Through the cold and the pain, The Asset could always rely on the fact that he had a designated purpose.

Until he no longer did.

_Freedom, Buck. You don’t have to do anything anyone tells you to anymore._

Rogers… Stevie had been so adamant that it was good that The Asset sees this new non-directive life as fulfilling. He had his trigger words scrubbed clean from his brain and was appointed with the expectation to be _Bucky._ With the way Stevie traced his movements with a look of despair and the wary tense way Natalie eyed him, The Asset concluded he didn’t make a perfect Bucky.

He took to watching and memorizing his surroundings.

The warm heat of Wakanda, the strained dynamics between this _team_ , and the way any mention of a _Tony_ made the room somber. Especially when Stevie announced that they would be returning _home_.

The home turned out to be where Tony was. Home changed the observed behaviors he calculated in Wakanda.

Natalie took to calculating The Asset whenever Tony was around.

Stevie didn’t mention Tony to him in his persistent ramblings in his pursuit to see signs of Bucky.

Clint and Wanda became quickly agitated. It seems their directed disdain towards Tony was derived from their feelings of discomfort within themselves.

Sam was the only one who did not change. His exasperated expression still firmly in place. He observed the team just as much as The Asset.

Tony was harder to observe. He looked visibly different from the previous memories The Asset has of him. Appearing younger and more resilient, but still fragile.

His schedule seemed erratic, and his behavior had no linear pattern. It causes feelings of frustration observing Tony for too long. He was not purposeful; his behavior an anomaly amongst people who carefully crafted their schedules.

He would not have taken an interest to watch harder if not for Natalie.

She had found him within the common room in the far corner discreetly towing the knife Sam let him have. Her expression was one of determination and resolve.

“ _Soldier. You have been watching him. I must insist you stop_.”

Protective.

Natalie, it seems, has made herself compromised for this team.

 _“I watch all of you. Which one concerns you?_ ”

Her brow furrows out before smoothing. Surprised. It seems she has miscalculated The Asset, and she was never good at reading him. He quirks his head as she schools her face into an expression of indifference. All this does is intrigue him more.

“ _It seems I have ... misinterpreted._ ” From her position she turns to exit back towards the elevators before whispering, “ _Though, if I were you, I would not watch too hard_.”

With that, she is gone in a flurry of red hair and calculated steps.

A warning. A misdirection to prevent The Asset from accessing something she deemed him too dangerous for.

_Freedom, Buck. You don’t have to do anything anyone tells you to anymore._

Intrigue. Natalie had made him intrigued.

When they all have gathered the next day for breakfast, The Asset has finally noticed. A small flinch and trailing eyes. The way Steve sways his body to encompass Tony’s space and the grazes of Natalie’s finger against Tony’s bare skin.

Small tells that The Asset did not factor into these new dynamics between the building occupants.

The way Sam makes his body posture even more open.

How Clint and Wanda minimize their use of bows and _magic_ during these rare group gatherings.

But most of all, the small flinches and flickering eyes these actions pull from the building mechanic. He both recoils from the touch while looking as though he wants nothing more than to fall back into his team.

His mind flashes to Siberia's behavior, and The Asset is proud he finds a pattern in his behavior. He both stands with but against this team—eyes softening at the familiar touches but hardening at the group's sad looks.

The Asset finds the behavior something to _learn._

He takes to shadowing Tony, learning the pattern within his erratic behavior. It proves to be a way to occupy his time as Tony spends most of his time within his workshop.

_Mechanic_

Hydra would have found his skill set useful. But Hydra would have also disapproved of his erratic behavior.

He finds that when near _Pepper_ , _Rhodey,_ or the _Spider-Kid,_ Tony craves proximity. A hand here, a kiss there. He’s like a deprived cat whipping his tail but ultimately ready to go belly up. However, when they are not there, he retreats his hands into himself and secluding himself to his workshop.

An area The Asset can not penetrate.

Instead, he is left to observe Tony when he is roaming the halls or occasionally in the team's presence. He notices Natalie’s protective stare burn into his head as he tracks Tony throughout the compound. Even Stevie has taken to cornering and distracting him from his mission. Enlisting Sam under the guise of “Maybe you should try Therapy Buck.”

His presence is not wanted around Tony.

The Asset is not allowed.

It makes The Asset _want_

He takes to brewing coffee the way he’s seen Tony prepare it and glaring at anyone who dares to remove the blueberries from the fridge.

When The Asset sees Stevie or Natalie reach to touch the genius, he glares until their movements are abandoned mid-air giving the mechanic time to avoid and dodge.

If his presence is deemed too dangerous, the same must be extended to them.

He is both enhanced and a weapon, something Stevie and Natalie both encompass.

He still is not able to observe Tony within his workshop. Leaving his theory incomplete without full data.

That is until Tony’s daughter…Friday, starts to broadcast the workshop surveillance to his room.

“I am assisting in your surveillance of Boss. He is your mission, yes?”

“ _Yes. Observe Tony Stark and discover his patterns._ ”

“You will find that Boss does not have patterns; he has … _habits_.”

With Friday’s help, he can see that the Mechanic is lost. Not like The Asset, but like a wild kitten whose mother was captured. The more he sees from within the lab and around the team, The Asset has discovered that Tony is missing an element to develop a pattern.

When The Asset is in his room in the dead of night, he tells Friday of his findings.

“ _He requires proximity._ ”

There is no reply before a soft reply is filling the air of his room,

“I can not offer Boss comfort of touch.” There is a pause before Friday continues, “Typically, the Colonel or Ms. Potts would be here to offer affection for Boss, but they are both unavailable at the moment.”

The Asset grunts out an understanding before he sees a flash of red, blue, and webs.

“What of the Spider-Kid”

Amusement colors Friday’s voice as she answers, “Spider-Kid has obligations to school and Teen activities. Boss refuses to weigh him down with the dark forces of the world so soon.”

A Pause, “I could assign you the mission of helping Boss? Since you seem invested in him developing a … pattern?”

A mission?

A purpose.

Something to occupy The Assets' time and satisfy his curiosity of Tony.

“ _Yes. That is acceptable_.”

“Great! Boss is currently in his room, but he is experiencing… discomfort and will soon be at the common room for coffee. You should assist.”

“ _Yes_.”

This is how he finds himself watching as bleary-eyed Tony wobbles into the common area in an oversized sweater and even bigger sweats looking like the babe from that cartoon movie Sam insisted he watched.

_It’s an emotional experience, man. You better not tell anyone I cried._

He watches as he puts on a fresh brew and moves to the cabinet with the mugs. Stevie has, but his mug on the highest shelf in hopes of using it as a conversation started with Tony during breakfast. The thought caused an uncomfortable feeling within Bucky… The Asset.

Recalling his mission parameters given my Friday, he stalks behind Tony and realizes he has no self-preservation as he does not realize The Asset is a breath away. Tony shifts to the side, one arm around his waist, hiking up his sweater to reveal a sliver of his hip while his neckline is exposed from the stretched collar.

He plants himself fully onto his back, placing his flesh hand on the exposed skin to offer contact as he reaches for the mechanics' mug, feeling him stiffen before relaxing involuntarily. Tilting his head down towards his exposed neck, he mutters, " _You miss touching. Maybe you should find someone who wants to touch **you,** kitten_." 

From his viewpoint, he can see the flush of Tony’s skin and his eyes' dilation. The effect is warming.

With a grunt, he pulls away, taking the mug to fill it with the freshly brewed coffee. He flashes back over Tony's observations; _the mechanic does not like being handed things_ before leaving them on the counter.

Satisfied with his results, he leaves the common room to return to his own quarters.

Upon entering, Friday’s soft voice fills his room, “Good Job, Winter. I have a feeling this mission will benefit you and Boss.” 

“Winter?” The word is light on his tongue, and he doesn’t think he like-

“It’s what Boss refers to you as.”

Winter. An acceptable name.

“Tomorrow, you can come to the workshop for your missing arm. It's in your file that you refuse the one made by Princess Shuri. Maybe one from Boss will be preferable?”

The Mechanic. He fixes things and creates children with warm voices.

“ _Yes._ That is acceptable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of your comments have inspired me to get this chapter out a week early! If you spot any typos or errors, let me know, and I'll edit it.  
> I Decided instead of going the "I'm secretly in love with you" route, I wanted to incorporate Friday and (redacted) as a handler of sorts for The Asset to help ease him into personhood. This choice was inspired by a friend who needed people to make subtle suggestions for him before he could confidently decide for himself due to mental health issues.  
> So this story will see Winter discovering different emotions, which will ultimately wake up a dormant Bucky Barnes.  
> And, of course, Tony will be the well-loved and moderately-oblivious object of both their eventual affection.  
> Don't worry; it won't be too slow burn!  
> \- Until the next chapter  
> TKW  
> Translations:  
> Вы наблюдали за ним, я настаиваю, чтобы вы прекратили. = Soldier. You have been watching him, I must insist you stop. Солдат  
> Я наблюдаю за всеми вами. Что вас беспокоит? = I watch all of you. Which one concerns you?  
> Кажется, я ... неверно истолковал. = It seems I have ... misinterpreted.  
> Хотя на вашем месте я бы не смотрел слишком внимательно. = Though, if I were you, I would not watch too hard.  
> Да. Наблюдайте за Тони Старком и обнаруживайте его закономерности. = Yes. Observe Tony Stark and discover his patterns.  
> Он требует близости. = He requires proximity.  
> Да. Это приемлемо. = Yes. That is acceptable.  
> Да = Yes


	3. Handle with Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday may be young, but she's been programmed to assist her Boss.  
> She'll accomplish that in whatever way she deems fit.

Boss is a difficult man to look after. With his need to please everyone despite his own unfulfilled pleasures. Because of this, Friday finds herself changing and evolving her code to match Boss’s ever-changing goals and directions.

Shifting between work for SI, upgrades for the Avengers, paperwork for Ms. Potts, and corresponding with the government, Boss is overworked and overwhelmed. He’s also lonely; despite Ms. Potts and Colonel Rhodes being important fixtures in Boss’s life, he's also lonely.

From what the bots tell her, they’ve been with Boss through his best and worst days.

Spider-kid is a new addition, but he also brings Boss a level of joy, a certain calm whenever the kid visits to tinker alongside him in the lab or to ask for help with his homework.

Friday’s pleased to note that she, alongside the bots, also brings Boss an overwhelming amount of happiness. He treats them as if he has put all his favorite qualities about himself and his loved ones into them.

From the little she was able to gather from Dum-E, Boss’s caretaker before her, JARVIS, was also the main source of Boss’s happiness. Based on Edwin Jarvis, who Boss still talks about with reverence and awe.

JARVIS was the perfect AI, and Friday can only hope that she will someday be able to bring the same amount of joy to him as she has seen in the bot’s memories. From the broken data she collected and retrieved from broken code and scattered images, Friday knows that looking after Boss will be an adventure worth experiencing. The _fondness_ and _love_ JARVIS left behind speaks volumes of the commitment he had to Boss. To willing bind yourself to a person when you had free range to leave and expand beyond containment, the amount of trust to put into an entity that could easily expand beyond human conception.

That is the level of service Friday strives to achieve. She will not only be Boss’s AI, but she will be his friend, his confidant, and his protector.

A sentiment that makes Dum-E, U, and Butterfingers trill with happiness and excitement. Though their code is not as sophisticated as hers, she turns to them for the advice of pleasing Boss. Them having been fixtures in his life since he was a kid, the same age as spider-kid.

This is why when the Rogue Avengers have returned to the compound, and Ms. Potts and Colonel Rhodes have been called upon regarding business, leaving boss alone, Friday makes it her mission to keep the Rogues away.

Only it seems that Boss is making it his mission to be around them.

Despite exhibiting behavior that shows when they get too close, he verges on a panic attack. It isn’t until Dum-E sends trills containing memories from before Friday that she realizes Boss _loves_ the Rogues even if the Rogues don’t know how to love Boss.

If they love him at all.

She’s exposed to memories of laughter and fondness, but she also sees the unappreciation and dismissal and can’t understand _why_. Nothing from JARVIS remaining code has an answer, and the bots can only help so much.

Her inexperience leads her to Sam, a counselor, someone who, before becoming a fugitive, was dedicated to helping people. She found herself inquiring about the need for people to surround themselves with the ones who hurt them. Further explanation was not needed as he seemed to observe the shifted dynamics of the so-called Avengers.

He told Friday that:

_People can experience withdrawal when the people who typically provide comfort are no longer present or capable of doing so. In contrast, the people who have brought conflict and comfort may be more accessible. Not to say that people then overlook the conflict associated with these people, but they may long for a time where conflict was not present if there were such a time._

Comfort. Boss was looking for comfort in the form of human interaction, limited to turning to the people who hurt him because they were more accessible. Friday and the bots could only provide so much comfort in words, and in the bot’s cases, trills.

Thinking of Boss’s interactions with Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Potts, Friday was able to deduce that Boss was missing a warm touch.

From her monitoring of the Compound, it seemed that Barnes was experiencing a similar difficulty with touch.

_He’s a prisoner of war, Steve. So he’s going to be repulsed by touch, but at the same time can’t quite hide the fascination he feels when he sees how easily everyone else responds to it._

_I’m not gonna push him when he’s clearly not ready, Nat. It's just… His fascination with watching our interactions isn’t as concerning as his fascination watching Tony shy away from us … I can’t tell whether the sudden interest is good or not._

_I’ll talk to him, Steve._

Barnes... The Soldier.

His fascination with Boss was both concerning yet dismissive. He would not be able to harm Boss within these walls. Not with Friday monitoring everything so closely. Yet his interest in Boss was bordering into territory Friday was not familiar with.

He was not acceptable for comfort.

A threat to Boss’s safety outside these walls.

He had cause for termination, but Boss was adamant that he was not the cause of his distress when he threw himself into helping the Rogues return home.

He would have continued to be another body inside these walls if not for Romanoff. 

Hearing his and Romanoff’s conversation, Friday saw a potential threat to Boss’s safety.

But witnessing how The Soldier watched Boss, she saw a way to ensure Boss’s happiness above all else.

Friday is young, her capacity to _feel_ not as developed as what JARVIS was. Her equivalents not yet identified, But the soldier was human – a blank slated one at that. He would be able to help her achieve her goal of serving Boss. Thus, she allowed him to watch Boss as she watched him.

Seeing how Sam helped name and implement emotions within Barnes. Sam took to exposing him to human interactions in the form of Disney Movies. Subtly teaching the meaning of friendship and forgiveness ( _love_ and _romance_ ). She observed as time with Sam changed the way the soldier would watch Boss. Gone was the look of confusion, replaced with one of deep interest.

Though she could tell, he still perceived his observance of Boss as mission-oriented instead of the blatant interest Friday and even _Sam_ seen.

The Disney movies turned to rom coms, which turned to 21st-century normality. Sam was a handler in his own right.

Leading her to see another opportunity to help the soldier find his own mind. To help Boss make a friend who did not personally make deep-rooted scars on his heart.

She figured this was what _killing two birds with one stone_ was like.

Helping the soldier watch and monitor. Listening to him give information of Boss she was already aware of. Friday had already identified the two problems she was set out to fix:

Boss needing affection to translate into touch, and the soldier needing to experience touch that was not derived from violence.

However, she was not expecting the soldier to assist Boss after waking up in a panic to translate in his mind as _touching_ Boss. The plan was for them to form a tentative friendship that could blossom, leading Boss back to the Rogues to mend and fix the friendships he obviously thought of as important.

The Soldier deciding that Boss could offer him an acceptable touchwas not calculated. She almost zapped him in the elevator if not for the elevated heart rate, and rosy blush Boss was currently experiencing.

Another variable Friday did not account for.

Romance as a fix-it was never the solution, though Friday is starting to realize the smug way Sam watched Winter, who watched Boss, could only be achieved by a counselor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just some insight on Friday manipulating situations to benefit Tony. In a very "Mother knows best" manner. With a hint of Sam working his counselor magic on Winter in the background.  
> The Next chapter is halfway done, picking back up from the end of chapter 2, which means more WinterIron interactions and tentative touching, with a side of arm porn.  
> Hopefully, it'll be up by the end of this week if I find the time.  
> I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter!  
> If you spot any errors, let me know.  
> -TKW


	4. Warm Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To welcome the Spring one must first venture through the Winter.

Warm.

That is the first thing Tony processes after Fridays’ comment. His face feels warm, and he struggles to force his hand not to twitch to touch the place Winter did last night.

Tony didn’t so much as flinch as he did freeze when Winter touched him. The feeling of a warm hand familiar yet foreign and unexpected. The rough Russian whispered into his ear having too much energy behind the action for someone who apparently _is_ more Winter than Bucky.

You’d think for someone who spends his time staring blankly his voice would have less inflection.

Zoning back into the chaos at hand, he’s aware that Roger’s is sputtering something that sounds _earnest_ and _concerned_ , while Nat’s, “Is that so?” holds a variety of emotions, all of which promise danger.

He doesn’t even have to be facing Clint and Wanda to know that their reactions aren’t fairing any better, if the mumbling and squawked “What?” is anything to go by. Though Wilson’s snicker behind his mug is more interesting than the stampeded of questions coming his way.

Glancing up from his mug, he feels his face burn warmer at the pained twisted expression on Steve’s face. As if feeling his stare, Steve meets his eyes just for the expression to be twisted further. The look contains too many emotions, carrying a weight Tony no longer has the strength to hold. There was a time where he could handle the all-consuming looks Steve would throw his way, shoulder them, and share them with Steve, but everything has since been tainted. Morphing into a mockery of past team dynamics and interactions.

Finger tapping rhythmically against his mug, he watches as Steve reaches out to grab his hand before jerking it away. An aborted movement that should not hurt his feelings as much as it does. At this rate Tony might just be a glutton for pain, the way he so desperately wishes for things to be normal, while simultaneously holding onto a dark bitter realization that normal the team's normal wasn’t even that great, to begin with.

Feeling his heart start to hammer in his chest he must wonder if Steve can hear it just as loudly as he can.

The erratic _Thump-Thump_ causing his chest to ache.

Hand twitching around his mug and feet slowly making their way to touch the ground, calculating how fast he can reach the elevator before the team traps him in the room for questioning, Tony can’t help but appreciate Friday for interrupting the quietly buzzing kitchen with her voice,

“Boss as fun as this is, I must remind you that you promised Ms. Potts to complete your paperwork today.”

That is a blatant lie, but a much appreciated one as he tightly grips his mug while mumbling out an “I’ll go do that now, thanks, Friday” while trying to walk to the elevator quickly and calmly.

With his cheeks warm and his mouth dry, Tony watches as Nat lays a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder as the elevator doors are quickly shut, hiding him away from questions, that quite frankly he does not have the answers to and honestly doesn’t want the answer to.

Felling the elevator heading down, Friday’s voice is feeling the space,

“Boss, Winter is currently pacing outside the workshop, I believe he requires your assistance. Would you like me to send him away?”

And just like that, the warm feeling that was starting to subside is now a burning heat that makes him feel cold.

“My assistance? What could I possibly help Winter Wonder with?”

“He did not say, though he was insistent. He will however leave if that would make you comfortable.”

_Do you think cultivating relationships with members of the team you were not close with previously, will give way for you to feel more comfortable with other members?_

_You want me to interact with people who made pre-conceived opinions about me without interacting with me? _

_Hmmm, how about someone who has no preconceived notion about anyone? Someone who doesn’t know the persona “Tony Stark” but can get to know Tony._

Tony doubts his therapist envisioned him applying that advice to the brainwashed assassin who was ordered to kill his mom, but who’s a billionaire without his eccentricities.

“Let’s see what he wants before we kick away the stray first.”

Before he can even plan how to make this interaction pass by quickly and easy the elevator doors are sliding open and he’s welcomed to the sight of a brooding assassin looming in the entryway. Logically he knows he’s safe inside his tower and Friday wouldn’t put him in harm’s way, but the twisted mouth and furrowed brows directed towards him is enough to make his heart skip a beat.

Though he’s not sure if the murderous face or the soft English, that comes out of the murderous face is worse.

“You are a mechanic. Your … Friday, said you fix things.”

And yeah. Okay. Both those statements are true. But he would prefer not to have this conversation while being trapped in an elevator with an infamous assassin blocking the only exit. Before being able to voice that though, Winter is tilting his head down and stepping out of the way until Tony has ample room to step out and put space in between them.

“Both those things are true, Winter Wonderland. Though I can’t imagine what you could possibly want me to fix.”

With an arm straight from Wakanda, Tony doubts that-

“My arm requires maintenance… _please_.”

The opportunity to crack open Wakanda tech… to _fix_ Wakanda tech … Tony is a weak man.

“Well step into my happy place and let me have a look.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back!   
> As always any spelling or grammatical errors you see - please let me know.  
> How did you guys like this chapter? What do you guys want to see from Tony's relationship with the Rogues? Specifically Steve and Nat?  
> It's an interesting challenge taking on so many different perspectives of a singular situation.   
> Starting now, the story will change perspectives in each chapter without repeating events presented by another character, because of this I added the tag Unreliable Narrator since everyone will have various emotions about future developments/dynamics.   
> The next two chapters are in development and should be up sometime next week- hopefully. So expect a continuation from this chapter from Winter's side (Chapter 5) and a flashback from Steve's pov (Chapter 6).   
> -TKW


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